You Have to Go When They're Ripe

Devotion for the Week...

The last Wednesday of August, Paul and I went out for a few hours of blueberry picking. That week was incredibly busy. I had a quilt on a tight deadline that I was trying to finish, plus we were leaving that Friday to take Zach to university, so there was all the stuff that needed to be done so he could pack. Laundry, laundry and more laundry, lol.

While we were out in the woods, I kept thinking about all of the things that needed to be done and how it was maybe a little crazy to be out picking berries instead of doing all that other stuff. But then I reminded myself that it's a very narrow window for getting blueberries. First of all, we go back to work soon after they first ripen, which makes it harder to find the time to go, plus this year we were going away for four days to get Zach moved. And, probably more importantly, if you don't go soon after they ripen, then everyone else will beat you to it! So, crazy or not, we went out and picked about 12L or 3 gallons of blueberries before the heat of the day made me call it quits and we headed home.

Picking berries and thinking about how short a time we have to get out there for them, made me think about salvation. (This isn't the first time picking blueberries has inspired a devotion, by the way. You can read the others here, here and here.) Everyone alive today has the opportunity to accept Jesus as their Savior, an opportunity which has been available for over 2,000 years. That may make it feel like this opportunity has always been and will always be, but that's not the case. There will come a day when God will say time is up. Maybe that will be the day we die, or maybe it will be the day Jesus returns. Either way, the time to accept Jesus as Savior will be over.

Unlike with predicting when berries will be ripe, though, we can't predict when that time will be. 

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who had so much he figured he could "sit back and say to [himself], 'My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!' But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’ Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God." (Luke 12:19-21). We can't know how long our lives will be. We like to pretend we will live forever, but we won't, and when that day comes, it will be too late to accept Jesus as Savior.

Likewise, we can't know when Jesus will come back. Even Jesus doesn't know! He said, "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows" (Matthew 24:36). We do know that He will come back and that when He does, it will be too late to accept Him as Savior.

We have to act now, accepting Jesus as our Savior while the time is right. Have you accepted Him as your Savior? If not, I pray you soon will!